The air around him crackled softly, and he felt a magical breeze flow past him. The crackling faded, as did the smell of the sea, giving way to a musty scent. Grint slowly opened his eyes, and was greeted not by the scene he had expected, he was plunged into darkness, within what appeared to be an ancient tunnel carved through rock. He could make out a faint light-source some distance ahead of him, and so onwards he crept, slowly and silently.
The light grew stronger, and he peered around a slight bend in the tunnel, not quite knowing what sight would greet him. Grints eyes which had become accustomed to the darkness stung as his gaze fell upon the light-source, four huge braziers arranged in each corner of a huge stone platform, carved in days of old. Beyond this mighty stage, Grint could see the ominous form of a mighty dragon, but strangely he was not afraid, for he felt this was his calling…
The braziers hissed and crackled as they burned brightly, illuminating the majestic cavern at the heart of Al’Cedra’s lair. The air became warm, and a subtle green light cast strange shadows on the cold cavern walls. The fires began hissing violently, and the flames grew higher, seeming to dance menacingly as they too began to change from a glowing white, to a dark green.
“ Be strong, my children, be strong”. Al’Cedra unfurled her mighty wings and gathered her young close by, concealing them from the horrors that were to come.
The air itself crackled, cold as ice, as the mighty dragon and her kindred fought for breath. From out of the darkness came a cackling laughter, laughter so loud that it shook the very stone Al’Cedra stood upon. Cracks began forming in the cavern walls, oozing forth pungent water from the bowels of the earth.
“Out of the shadows beyond, he comes. This is my fight. You must find a new home… away from the eyes of man”.
The young drakes growled, but Al’Cedra had spoken. Crawling from beneath her wings, they leapt into flight.
Grint span around, still undetected in the shadows, and rushed back through the darkness along the tunnel he had arrived from. He tripped and stumbled, but onwards he fled, until the darkness gave way to soft moonlight, and again the smell of the sea surrounded him. He stopped still, breathing deeply, he was back on the small island.
Grint knew he would not return to Al’Cedra’s lair, and he knew something was terribly wrong. His heart sank, for he knew not what fate awaited the might dragon. The knowledge contained within those ancient walls, kept concealed for so many ages from the eyes of man, may have fallen into the wrong hands. He did not know what had happened nor why, his expedition had given rise to more questions than answers. He knew the dragons had fled from a force of unimaginable power, and it was to become his personal mission to discover answers to the questions that flooded through his mind.
The hope that one day dragons would once again guard the sacred and mysterious chamber kept his tired legs from failing, as he began the long trek home.
But they would never return.
Nocsaal had come.
The story is from http://www.uo-europe.com/
Legends
